American Style Through the Decades: The Sixties

David Hicks was a hugely influential interior designer of the Sixties, creating boldly colored and patterned spaces that produced strong emotions.

Look in practically any room today, and you'll find some element that has its design origin ties to that high era of style, smoking and culture known as the Sixties. Sure TV's "Mad Men" has certainly had its impact on the recent style resurgence in today's interiors, but folks were going mad for 1960s style even before Don Draper started sipping whiskey at 10am in the morning. We delve into this decade to give you some of the reasons it became so popular, some of its characteristics and why we as society still love the look, over 50 years later.

The looks! The music! The clothes! To say the Sixties were an exciting time in American style history is an understatement. Though it can be said for every decade of our past, it's somehow truer of the Sixties: America was changing. New ideas were flourishing. Rebellious thoughts and wild trends were making their way to the mainstream. Culture was rich and varied and many issues in sexism and racism were coming to the forefront to be debated and addressed. The Cold War was going on; tensions were high and a stream of anxiety flowed through everyone's seemingly cool exterior. Conflicts like the Vietnam War made for tensions between differing political sides.

It was also a truly exciting time for technology and science. The Space Race sparked the imagination of millions as they all watched as man walked on the moon. Tons of progress was made in electronics, with new technology appearing nearly every year. There were huge leaps in manufacturing processes and you started seeing furniture made out of molded plastic and turned into pretty far out organic shapes.

This was also a jet-setting era of luxury, flamboyance and excess. Perhaps in contrast to previous decades, where the economy necessitated that we be a little bit more understated with our home lives, you saw interiors in the Sixties that were not only on the cutting edge of style, but ones that were highly personalized. People spent a lot of money on their homes because it was very much a statement of not just your wealth and success, but who you were. Perhaps most of all, there was a sense of fun. People loved to entertain, and fun colors, fun patterns, experimentation with new technologies, new ideas, and new furniture layouts reigned supreme. The Sixties were swingin' and so were the interiors.

Because this is arguably one of the most beloved eras of interior and furniture design, many folks tend to define its style in many different ways. The ideas and people mentioned in this post are but one tiny little part of the look and style of the Sixties. We'd love to know what defines that decade for you. What colors, patterns and textures remind you of that era? What interior designers and furniture designers do you look to from inspiration? What artists do you covet for your walls? How do you interpret this decade's great look for your own home? Please let us know!